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In this article it talks about how the media affects the lives of people. It states that advertisements feature males twice as many times as females, in movies male characters received twice as much screen time as female actors, and many females have unrealistic bodies and behaviors in the media,

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Close your eyes. Picture a CEO, a president, a Hollywood director, a top scientist, a head coach, a leading surgeon, a hero, or just a very strong, healthy, impressive person. Not a specific person but just someone who would fit these roles or descriptions. What comes to mind? What does he look like?

I say "he" because there's a good chance that you pictured a he (meaning a man and not a chuckle). There's also a decent chance that the person you envisioned is not Black, Asian, Native American, or Latino.

Why? As actress Geena Davis explained to me during a recent conversation, "that's what the media, entertainment, and advertising have tended to portray. There have been far fewer opportunities for females and other groups to play different characters. Instead, the woman has often been the girlfriend or the wife of the lead character. This was sending a message to everyone in society that women had less value" And Davis is trying to change all that with her non-profit organization the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the Bentonville Film Festival, and the #StrengthHasNoGender campaign with Brawny throughout Women's History Month.

"What we're trying to do is have media representations better reflect reality," said Davis.

To understand why such efforts are so important, consider the key role that media plays in establishing social norms, your identity, your health, and your well-being. When you are born, you are a cooing, spitting, and pooping relatively blank slate. According to a review article in the Annual Review of Psychology, typically, as a newborn infant, you don't exhibit strong gender or racial biases or say sexist or racist things, which would be really weird for a newborn. (An adult who behaves like an infant is a different story.) But then exposures begin to shape your perceptions of yourself and others.

And a big part of that exposure is the media. According to a 2002 study published in Science, by high school graduation, you will have on average spent more time watching television than in school classrooms. That was nearly two decades ago. Nowadays, with Netflix, Hulu, and other media platforms more readily available, a survey by Common Sense Media found that Americans teens spend an average of 9 hours a day using media. Remove the time spent asleep and in the bathroom, and media occupies much more than half of a teen's day. Then add to that advertising, which has become as ubiquitous as, well advertising. Thus, it's no surprise that media such as advertising, television, and movies can substantially affect your health and well-being and change your life.

Davis told me that a movie significantly changed her life as well. Except that she starred in the movie rather than watched it (although she probably watched it too). Nominated for 6 Academy Awards (and winning Best Original Screenplay), the 1991 film Thelma and Louise featured Davis and Susan Sarandon as two friends who embarked on a road trip, but became fugitives after they thwarted and killed an attempted rapist. The movie was groundbreaking in many ways, such as showcasing two strong female lead characters that resist abusive male characters and face tribulations as a result. "The movie generated such a positive reaction from people who watched that it changed my life," explained Davis. "It showed how people can be really inspired by female characters."

Thus began a journey by the Academy-Award winning actor that resulted in her founding her Institute on Gender in Media in 2004. Here's a video on the Institute:

Since its founding the Institute has amassed what it describes as "the largest body of research on gender prevalence in family entertainment, spanning more than 20 years." Davis added that "we are providing direct research and the numbers so that everyone can see what the situation is and how to improve it." Here are some examples of key findings:

Advertisements feature twice as many male characters as female characters: The Gender Bias in Advertising study also found that 25% of ads had only men versus 5% featuring just women. Unless a quarter of all ads are about Viagra or testicle cream, something is wrong with this picture.

In movies, male characters received twice as much screen time and spoke twice as often compared to female characters: This was based on analyses performed by the Geena Davis Inclusion Quotient (GD-IQ) Software Tool, developed by the Geena Davis Institute and a team from the University of Southern California (led by Dr. Shri Narayanan). The GD-IQ software can scan a movie and automatically measure different characters' screen and speaking time. Lack of a voice on the screen can lead to a lack of a voice (or at least the perception of a lack of voice) in real life.

Positive female role models in the media can help women become more ambitious and assertive and even help them leave abusive relationships: As described in a 2016 press release, this was based on a survey of 4,300 women in nine countries (Brazil, China, India Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Russia, Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.). Over half of respondents (58%) related that female role models inspired them to be more ambitious or assertive with one-in-nine (one-in-four in Brazil) indicating that positive female role models had given them the courage to leave an abusive relationship.

Many female characters have unrealistic bodies and behaviors: Unrealistic unless you are Jessica Rabbit. Four studies reviewed the appearance and presentation of women on a variety of shows, animated and live action and found lots of big chests, small waists, and generally unrealistic bodies. Such images may be good for some plastic surgeons but can't be good for the body image, self-confidence (unless you are Jessica Rabbit), eating habits, and other behaviors of girls and women.

A lack of women playing leaders or characters with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers: An analysis of 11,927 speaking characters from movies and television showed that only a small percentage of C-suite executives (3.4%) and high-level politician characters (4.5%) in "family films" were women. And the percentages of editors-in-chiefs, investors, developers, and chief justice characters who were female? Zero (which ironically rhymes with hero). And less than one sixth (16.3%) in family films and slightly over one-fifth (21.1%) of STEM characters were women. What people see in movies and television can influence the careers they choose and acceptance of people in certain roles.

In the past, television, movie, and advertising executives largely controlled what roles and images the public would see. They would present either what they thought the public would want to see or what they wanted the public to see. However, the Internet and social media are helping change all of this. Now anyone in theory can upload a picture or a video for public consumption. While this has led to a plethora of cat videos and someone cementing his head in a microwave, it also has led to influential campaigns. For example, Dr. Heather Logghe started the hashtag #ILookLikeASurgeon to motivate people to post pictures of women working as surgeons to alter the perceived norm of what a surgeon "should" look like. And of course, the #MeToo movement has brought much more attention to the ongoing harassment, biases, and barriers to advancement that continue to plague many industries.

Thus, Davis feels that this is a good time for her to launch the #StrengthHasNoGender campaign in partnership with Brawny. Davis related that "the events of the past year such as the #MeToo movement have led to a groundswell of support for women. We need to make the most of these opportunities. There needs to be more women in C-suites and other decision making positions." The #StrengthHasNoGender campaign encourages people to post stories about "sheroes," females from all walks of life who have done inspiring things, with this hashtag. A Brawny website includes many of these stories. "Seeing and hearing more such stories will inspire more girls and women to be strong and bold," explained Davis. Also, you know the pictures of the lumberjack-like men that have traditionally appeared on Brawny paper towel rolls? Well, look for pictures of women to replace some of them. This gives new meaning to wiping away old stereotypes.

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How Media Portrayal Affects Women, And What Geena Davis Is Doing About It

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Close your eyes. Picture a CEO, a president, a Hollywood director, a top scientist, a head coach, a leading surgeon, a hero, or just a very strong, healthy, impressive person. Not a specific person but just someone who would fit these roles or descriptions. What comes to mind?

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According the article the prices of childcare have risen by over 50%. This is starting to be a problem for some families. They are using roughly 19-20% of their household income to pay for childcare expenses.

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The cost of child care has risen by 41% during the pandemic

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With the expiration of the Child Tax Credit, many parents - primarily moms - will be forced to leave their jobs.

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Parents in Virginia are fighting to remove a whole school board from service after they neglected several sexual assaults that have happened in the bathroom. The student that had been committing these acts was quietly transferred to another school where his acts continued.

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Bombshell report alleges school board covered up a sexual assault

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Turning red is a movie that has brought up a lot of controversy about the actions that Mei the main character finds herself in. One of the alarming things is the mensural period references in the movie. There are several other alarming things in the movie and I would personally not let my kids watch it, but I don't think there is anything wrong with the fact she experiences her first period during the movie.

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What makes a controversy? In the case of Turning Red, Pixar's delightful new film about a Toronto teenager who discovers she can turn into a (huge) red panda, it seems no one can make up their minds. But the quest to pick an objection, any objection, to this quirky little movie might have conscripted Turning Red into larger ongoing conversations about parents, kids, and - deep sigh - the culture war.

The vast majority of the film's audience seems to adore its main character, a 13-year-old Chinese Canadian girl named Mei, with her proud fannish hobbies and her loyal geek squad friends. And they've been loudly celebrating Turning Red 's unique elements: Its early-2000s Toronto setting, its celebration of teenage girlhood, and especially its thoughtful depiction of a child grappling with complicated issues of family, community, and repressed history.

But the buzz around the movie in the days since its March 11 release has been tinged with drama, and might well give you the impression that Turning Red is Pixar's most controversial film since - maybe ever. While that's probably not true, the dust-ups around Turning Red keep gaining attention and going viral - maybe less because lots of people are mad than because the things a few people are mad about are just ... kind of weird.

The controversies, such as they are, range from claims that this film isn't relatable to insistent discomfort with the depiction of a young woman in puberty, a child having autonomy, and the very reality of - yes, sometimes cringeworthy - 13-year-old girls.

In many ways, Turning Red will be a deeply familiar story to many members of its audience. Its Toronto setting is full of local color and details to delight the natives. Mei is a boy-crazy fangirl who's confident, passionate, and loves school. Those descriptors could easily fit millions of teen girls and adult women, but it's rare, outside of Bob's Burgers' Tina Belcher, to see this kind of femininity lovingly, playfully depicted on screen. Mei's favorite band, 4*Town, is a hilarious amalgamation of every early 2000s boy band, sporting all the nasally vocals, heavy synth, and drum pads you could want from a nostalgic trip down the backstreet. The film also sports cheeky period references, from Tamagotchi to Sailor Moon. Even more familiar to many more viewers might well be the film's loving but strict parents, as well as the rich Chinese cultural signifiers on display, which have drawn praise from viewers:

I've seen Turning Red in a theater and now that I have, I'm really upset that most people aren't going to experience it like this. I don't think I've ever felt more seen by a film like this as an Asian Canadian in the Toronto area.

Fantastic stuff.
- Jaime Rebanal Does Not Have Elden Ring (@firewalkwjaime) March 9, 2022

The film centers around a careful metaphor that, like the movie's other elements, is both specific and broad. In Mei's household, her mother gives her freedom but keeps a close eye on her and expects her to help work in their family temple, which honors their ancestral love of the red panda. All is well until the onset of Mei's puberty triggers a metamorphosis: Mei begins turning intoan oversized red panda when she experiences intense emotions, and learns that this secret has, er, challenged the family for generations. The "cure," so her mother describes it, is a ceremonial ritual that locks away all the inconvenient emotions associated with the panda transformation: aggression, anger, and fear, but also intense passion and happiness.

Many people are reading Turning Red as a narrative about intergenerational trauma. This can manifest as learned behaviors in response to oppression, abuse, or other challenges that are then passed down through the family or community - like Mei's family inheritance - until they become embedded and difficult to interrogate. It's also easy to see this narrative as a commentary on the way Asian diaspora children deal with the tremendous expectations they face to succeed - even in societies where they face discrimination and alienation, often silently.

Yet a metaphor like this one is also durable and applicable to all kinds of different experiences. From one angle, we do have a very individual story: a girl with a red panda spirit that her family's ancestral temple has carefully locked away through a ritual involving a Chinese shaman and a blood moon. But from another angle, we have a deeply familiar story: a family forcing a child to completely repress a messy, unpalatable side of themselves that they were born with and don't want to completely get rid of, even if they're still learning how to navigate the world with it. That is an entirely recognizable story to millions of people. Just as Mei tells the audience: "We've all got a messy, loud, weird part of ourselves hidden away, and a lot of us never let it out."

Whether Turning Red is relatable shouldn't be a question. Except that the larger cultural debate around Turning Red was prescribed for us, completely predictably, by a single loud critical voice proclaiming that it isn't.

The culprit: a review, since fully retracted but still archived, written by Sean O'Connell, the managing director of CinemaBlend. O'Connell felt that not only were Turning Red's Toronto teens impossible for him to relate to, but that even trying "wore [him] out." Pixar's turn toward "deeply personal - though less universal - stories," he feared, "risk[s] alienating audience members who can't find a way into the story, beyond admiring the impressive animation." O'Connell described the film's target audience as "small and incredibly specific" and snarked that it hadn't "bothered to include plot elements everyone could find engaging." He also repeatedly dismissed Turning Red's quirky plot as a giant Teen Wolf rip-off, which kind of implies O'Connell has only ever seen one teenage werewolf movie. In reality, director Domee Shi took much of her inspiration from classic '90s anime.

The public backlash to O'Connell's review was swift, and so fierce that O'Connell apologized and the website retracted the review and published a better one, with reviewer Sarah El-Mahmoud writing that Turning Red is "the most relatable Pixar film I've ever seen." But despite El-Mahmoud's opinion aligning with the overwhelmingly positive critical reception of the film, O'Connell's review got all the attention. It made the question of whether Turning Red was too "specific" a central part of the public discussion.

Other complaints followed. Some viewers and critics have complained about the film's supposedly inappropriate "maturity," Mei's willful nature, and the generalized problem of teen girls.

Actually haven't heard of the movie but after seeing this tweet this morning I just came across this on FB. It's got some people nice and mad! lol pic.twitter.com/nyjZdsEEUG
- I'm a Unicorn (@woopdedoo652) March 13, 2022

First, the "mature issues" argument - namely teen girls getting their periods. Turning Red is an obvious analogue for menstruation, and Mei's mother mortifies her by presenting her with pads in public. But apart from this moment of public embarrassment, there's little shame or confusion attached to the idea of getting periods, which is a giant win by itself - unless you're the type of viewer who thinks, as Rotten Tomatoes audience reviewer "Jon K" did, that Pixar overstepped its bounds in a major way. "Insanely inappropriate," he wrote. "Please leave the explanation of puberty to us parents and we'll leave the family entertainment ... to you." Jeana O was "shocked for the huge emphasis on periods and sexual obsessiveness with boys (not something this audience is even thinking about right now and doesn't need to be concerned about)."

Other reviewers echoed the sentiment that the film's themes were inappropriate for children, but brought up a second concern: that it celebrates kids disobeying their parents. "It feels like the film champions kids being rude to their parents and other authority figures," wrote Joseph A, while Cristy A argued that the film's entire premise was suspect: "This 'you're perfect exactly as you are' theme is not reality, it needs to be pushed back with love, we embrace our good qualities and learn from our bad, embracing anger, rage, disrespect and disobedience is not exactly the messages we want to send our kids."

This idea - that Turning Red promotes disobedience and an unhealthy level of self-acceptance - has popped up so often in viewer reviews and discussion that it deserves a little unpacking. Pixar, of course, is no stranger to depictions of kids having rocky relationships with their parents, from Brave to Finding Nemo. Disobedient girls are Disney's bread and butter, from Lilo & Stitch to Encanto to almost every Disney princess. It's not clear why this particular Disney girl's disobedience is so objectionable - if we graciously ignore the issue of racism, and the implication that some viewers want Mei to be presented as a respectful, obedient stereotype.

What is clear, however, is that Mei's family approach to the panda inheritance clearly isn't healthy for all of them. The conversation about disobedience largely ignores that the thing Mei disobeys is awful: Having her soul essentially ripped apart in a kind of exorcism that doubles as an emotionally scarring, possibly even physically painful intervention - even conversion therapy. If you're a kid who's faced with that kind of family pressure to give up a huge part of yourself, it's arguably okay to feel a lot of negative emotions about it, and to refuse to go through with it. If obedience is going to give you lifelong trauma, sometimes you simply must disobey.

The conversation about disobedience is explicitly tied to Mei having autonomy over her own body, mental health, and spiritual nature, so it's important to be blunt here: It's Mei, not her family, not even her parents, who has the right to decide how she handles those things. And at 13, she's arguably old enough to make such major choices, even if there is, currently, a huge wave of bigoted abuse disguised as legislation across the US arguing otherwise - legislation that attempts to deprive kids of their voice in exactly this kind of situation.

Okay, maybe not exactly this transform-into-a-big-red-panda situation. But Turning Red may be an unintentional litmus test in the larger culture war: How you react to the idea of kids practicing self-acceptance and defining their own identities may say much more about your methods of parenting than about a film whose climax includes a singalong led by an angel-winged boy band.

And that brings us to the final and most ridiculous strand of Turning Red discourse: The argument that the main character is annoying, unrealistic, or "cringe" for reasons I've yet to really determine. She's loud? She likes boys? She's ... a typical teenage girl? It's hard to understand what the specific complaints about Mei are, but the typical descriptors from negative audience reviews tend toward "obnoxious," "silly," "cringe," and "unrealistic."

So many people objected to these kinds of complaints about Mei and her friends that tweets like this one went viral over the weekend.

"turning red is cringe because 13 year old girls dont--" let me stop you right there when i was 13 i wrote a story about how legolas fell in love with me and how i went to middle earth and then aragorn also fell in love with me. we are cringe we are legion
- neon any prns! (@neon_heartbeat) March 13, 2022

The hashtag "#at13 " also began trending, as people articulated just how over-the-top and embarrassing they were at 13, for anyone out there laboring under the mistaken impression that 13-year-olds are cool.

The idea that Turning Red is "controversial" is hard to stick with. The vast majority of audience members who love the film seem to love it deeply - and I have to admit, as a lifelong embarrassing fangirl, I found it to be completely charming.

In fact, it might be a sign of how special Turning Red is that it's attracting the kind of criticisms that aren't really controversies at all, but rather baffled, individualized emotional explosions in response to a film that disobeys the expected rules about what it's supposed to be.

Mei and her friends are loving, unabashed fans who don't have to overcome their dorky passions to find self-acceptance and social acceptance. Mei isn't the "dutiful Asian child" stereotype, nor is her mother the overbearing "tiger mom." Turning Red gives us a parental figure who doesn't have an easy route to self-acceptance and doesn't have all the answers, but who recognizes, in the end, that it's more important to parent like a team leader than a tyrant.

Perhaps that's the film's real offense: It offers lessons for parents, as well as their children. How willing you are to listen might make all the difference in whether it leaves you embracing its idiosyncrasies or ... turning red.

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Why are people so mad over Pixar's delightful Turning Red?

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The buzz around Pixar's quirky new movie has been tinged with some internet drama.

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Pumping is a necessity for women with children. However it is a very awkward action to some people, this could lead mothers to refrain from going out in public. This article presents a process about how to pump in public. Part of the process is "act like you know what you are doing" and "have a sense of humor." Why should we need these processes when pumping is something that most mothers go through and in fact is what most people ate when they were children.

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If you are exclusively pumping, it's a good idea to try to get comfortable with pumping in public. It makes life a lot easier if you can pump in your car between errands, for example, versus running home to do it. Additionally, if pumping on the go isn't an option, it's easy to start feeling trapped at home and resentful about pumping.

But how do you do it? We'll go through everything you need to know.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase, I'll be compensated at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I love! More info here.
As with nursing in public, whether or not pumping in public is something that you feel you can do will depend on the culture of the area you're in, your feelings about modesty, and your comfort with the idea in general.

Pumping in public has an added degree of awkwardness, though, as it is a lot less common than nursing in public. Also, some people might not understand why you need to do it at that moment or why it's not something that can wait until you get home, whereas they might be able to understand the immediate need to feed a hungry baby.

Tips and Tricks for Pumping on the Go

Here are the key things that have helped me be successful with pumping in public:

1. Have a plan for powering your pump.

If you don't have a portable pump (if you're looking for one, there are some great options here), you'll either need to plan to pump near an outlet, or have a battery pack.

There are a few different kinds of battery packs - car adaptors that plug into a vehicle lighter, rechargeable battery packs, and the type that use regular batteries. Make sure you use the correct voltage for your pump. More on battery packs here.

The other option is to use a manual pump. This can work out well if you don't want to carry a huge breast pump bag (say, if you're out at a bachelorette party or a wedding).

2. Choose a good location for pumping in public.

There are two kinds of pumping in public scenarios: semi-public (for example, in your car, in a lactation pod, or in a family restroom) and out-in-the-open-public (such as sitting on a bench watching your older child play soccer).

It might be easiest to start with a semi-public situation, and then work your way up to other scenarios if and when you feel comfortable doing so.

3. If you'd like, use a nursing cover (in your case, a breast pumping cover!)

I think you should pump however you feel most comfortable - whether that's with a cover or without.

The two different kinds of nursing covers that work well with pumping are apron-style (where you have a strap around your neck holding up fabric over your chest) or poncho (where a large poncho goes over your head and covers your front and back, while allowing easy access underneath).

4. Have everything ready to go to minimize the time you spend hooking and unhooking yourself.

Before you leave the house, put your pump parts and bottles and everything together. Then put them in a gallon-sized zip-top plastic bag or Pumparoo in your pump bag along with your bottle caps.

This is a great way to ensure that you don't forget anything essential, like a valve or flange, and also minimizes the time you will spend fumbling with your gear when it's time to pump.

Note: It's really easy to forget the bottle caps, so make sure that you bring them with you. You can also stash a few extra in your bag in case this happens at some point.

When you're ready to pump, just put on your nursing cover (if you're using one), then your hands-free bra, and quickly attach the pump parts/bottle.

(Even better: if you can make it work with your outfit, wear the hands-free bra under your shirt - or use an integrated pumping bra - so that it's already on and you just need to pull up your shirt/unzip your hoodie, etc.)
More on packing your pump bag (including a checklist) here.
5. Store your milk safely.

Breast milk can be kept at room temperature for about 4 hours, though the exact amount of time will depend on the ambient temperature. Therefore, if you're feeding the milk to your baby fresh or will be home shortly after pumping, you may just be able to leave it at room temperature rather than storing it in a cooler.

If you're going to need to keep your milk cold, you have a few options:

You can bring a breast milk cooler with an ice pack for storing your milk.

Some breast pump bags have insulated compartments that can work well if you put your full bottles in them along with an ice pack.

The Ceres Chill might be a good option if you pump on the go frequently - it's a cooler than you can pump directly into. (They gave me a discount code - use PUMPING15 for 15% off!)

Breast milk can be stored in a cooler with an ice pack for about 24 hours.

6. Store and (if necessary) clean your pump parts.

Once you're done pumping, if you won't be pumping again, you can place your pump parts back in the plastic zip-top bag or wet bag.

If you do need to pump again, you can:

7. Act like you know what you are doing.

Even if you're a little nervous about the idea of pumping on the go, try to fake it until you make it.

Start someplace easy, where you can feel somewhat confident, and then act that way. If you act like what you are doing is perfectly natural and no big deal, people are a lot more likely to not notice you. Remember, most people are far too busy worrying about themselves and what's going in their own lives to pay attention to you.

Additionally, having your partner or supportive friends around while you pump - at least at first - can be really helpful in making you feel more confident and less self-conscious.

8. Have a sense of humor.

It's inevitable that something will go wrong at some point - a curious toddler will come lift up your cover, or you'll run into your boss when you're out and happen to be pumping, or you'll accidentally spill breast milk on a stranger as you unhook yourself from your pump parts.

Anticipate that this stuff might happen and try to see the humor in it. You probably will laugh about it one day, and it'll be a good story!

My experience with pumping on the go

I started pumping in public in my car. Sometimes I would pump while my husband drove, and other times I'd just use it as a lactation room if we were out of the house and parked somewhere.

Then, my son was sick and I needed to pump in the ER waiting room while we were waiting for him to be seen, which helped push me to get more comfortable with pumping in public.

I've also pumped while playing poker (with a bunch of good-natured friends), while sitting outside having a picnic with a big group, and - my bravest moment - while sitting in an airport gate. I sat down next to an outlet, set myself up, and pumped for about 7 minutes until my flight was called. No one paid any attention to me. (I also pumped on the plane in my seat and no one noticed.)

Hopefully this will help you get started with pumping in public. Feel free to leave additional tips or stories below in the comments!

References

What to Expect. "Breastfeeding in Public: Tips and Laws for Nursing Mothers." https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-in-public/

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Pumping in Public: How to Pump Outside Your House Like a Boss

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If you are exclusively pumping, it's a good idea to try to get comfortable with pumping in public. It makes life a lot easier if you can pump in your car between errands, for example, versus running home to do it.

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How many kids can you have is not a choice

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How many kids can you have is not a choice

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In this article it explains that China is experiencing a downfall in their population due to only being able to have one-two children. They have now changed the number of children that couples can have to three.

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China has announced that it will allow couples to have up to three children, after census data showed a steep decline in birth rates.

China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit which has failed to lead to a sustained upsurge in births.

The cost of raising children in cities has deterred many Chinese couples.

The latest move was approved by President Xi Jinping at a meeting of top Communist Party officials.

It will come with "supportive measures, which will be conducive to improving our country's population structure, fulfilling the country's strategy of actively coping with an ageing population and maintaining the advantage, endowment of human resources", according to Xinhua news agency.

But human rights organisation Amnesty International said the policy, like its predecessors, was still a violation of sexual and reproductive rights.

"Governments have no business regulating how many children people have. Rather than 'optimising' its birth policy, China should instead respect people's life choices and end any invasive and punitive controls over people's family planning decisions," said the group's China team head, Joshua Rosenzweig.

Also, some experts were sceptical of the impact.

"If relaxing the birth policy was effective, the current two-child policy should have proven to be effective too," Hao Zhou, a senior economist at Commerzbank, told Reuters news agency.

"But who wants to have three kids? Young people could have two kids at most. The fundamental issue is living costs are too high and life pressures are too huge."

On a rainy, bleak day in Beijing I was out buying a coffee when the news broke.

People started looking down at their phones as they beeped and whirred with the headline flashing across their screens - China to allow couples to have three children.

This is big news in a country which didn't start suddenly producing more babies when the one-child policy eased off to two.

In fact, many are asking how a three-child policy might mean more children when the two-child version didn't and why birth restrictions have remained here at all given the demographic trend.

One thought is that, among those prepared to have two children, at least some parents will have three.

However, I have interviewed many young Chinese couples about this subject and it is hard to find those who want bigger families these days.

Generations of Chinese people have lived without siblings and are used to small families - affluence has meant less need for multiple children to become family-supporting workers, and young professionals say they'd rather give one child more advantages than spread their income among several kids.

What did the census say?

The census, released this month, showed that around 12 million babies were born last year - a significant decrease from the 18 million in 2016, and the lowest number of births recorded since the 1960s.

The census was conducted in late 2020 - some seven million census takers had gone door to door to collect information from households.

Given the sheer number of people surveyed, it is considered the most comprehensive resource on China's population, which is important for future planning.

It was widely expected after the census data results were released that China would relax its family policy rules.

'Too many big pressures'

By Kerry Allen, China Media Analyst

China's leading media are giving a lot of fanfare to the "three-child policy".

Newspaper People's Daily, broadcaster CCTV and news agency Xinhua are all posting happy cartoon images of children today on their social media pages and saying that the new policy has "arrived".

It is already the top talking point on popular social network Sina Weibo - posts mentioning the new policy have already racked up tens of thousands of views, and hundreds of thousands of comments.

More than 180,000 users have commented on Xinhua's upbeat post, and the ones with the most likes do not look upon the policy kindly.

"There are too many big pressures in life at the moment," one user says, "Young people are not willing to have kids."

Many talk about modern day "workplace dilemmas" for people leaving on maternity/paternity leave and there not being even "the most basic reproductive benefits".

And with a shrinking labour market, young Chinese people today accept that they have to work longer hours. Overtime and overwork are endemic.

More women meanwhile are choosing to pursue further education and employment, rather than settle down early to start a family.

What were China's previous policies?

The government's move in 2016 to allow couples to have two children failed to reverse the country's falling birth rate despite a two-year increase immediately afterwards.

Yue Su, principal economist from The Economist Intelligence Unit, said: "While the second-child policy had a positive impact on the birth rate, it proved short-term in nature."

China's population trends have over the years been largely shaped by the one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979 to slow population growth.

Families that violated the rules faced fines, loss of employment and sometimes forced abortions.

The one-child policy also led to a severe gender imbalance in the country. The traditional preference for male children led to large numbers of girls being abandoned or placed in orphanages, or cases of sex-selective abortions or even female infanticide.

"This poses problems for the marriage market, especially for men with less socioeconomic resources," Dr Mu Zheng, from the National University of Singapore's sociology department, said.

Ahead of China's latest census, experts had speculated that birth restrictions might be lifted entirely - though it appears as though China is treading cautiously.

But others said that such a move could potentially lead to "other problems" - pointing out the huge disparity between city dwellers and rural people.

As much as women living in expensive cities such as Beijing and Shanghai may wish to delay or avoid childbirth, those in the countryside are likely to still follow tradition and want large families, they say.

"If we free up policy, people in the countryside could be more willing to give birth than those in the cities, and there could be other problems," a policy insider had earlier told Reuters, noting that it could lead to poverty and employment pressures among rural families.

Experts had warned that any impact on China's population, such as a decline, could have a vast effect on other parts of the world.

Dr Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said: "China's economy has grown very quickly, and many industries in the world rely on China. The scope of the impact of a population decline would be very wide."

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China allows three children in major policy shift

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The change comes after a move to a two-child limit failed to stop a decline in birth rates.

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Does your race define your death chances

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Does your race define your death chances

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In this article it shows the differences in race and their risk of Covid infection, hospitalization, and death.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death By Race/Ethnicity

Race and ethnicity are risk markers for other underlying conditions that affect health including socioeconomic status, access to health care, and exposure to the virus related to occupation, e.g., frontline, essential, and critical infrastructure workers.

How to slow the spread of COVID-19

¹ Data Source: Data reported by state and territorial jurisdictions (accessed 03/10/2021). Numbers are ratios of age-adjusted rates standardized to the 2019 US intercensal population estimate. Calculations use only the 53% of case reports that have race and ethnicity data available; this can result in inaccurate estimates of the relative risk among groups.

² Data source: COVID-NET ( https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covid-net/purpose-methods.html , accessed March 1, 2020, through February 27, 2021). Numbers are ratios of age-adjusted rates standardized to the 2019 US standard COVID-NET catchment population.

³ Data source: NCHS provisional death counts ( https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Deaths-involving-coronavirus-disease-2019-COVID-19/ks3g-spdg, data through March 6, 2021). Numbers are ratios of age-adjusted rates standardized to the 2019 US intercensal population estimate.

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Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death By Race/Ethnicity Race and ethnicity are risk markers for other underlying conditions that affect health including socioeconomic status, access to health care, and exposure to the virus related to occupation, e.g., frontline, essential, and critical infrastructure workers.

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In this video it explains how the difference in tax rates over the state of New York where some people with apartments can not afford the tax rates. While others who own a house can pay their lower tax rates with ease. This a result because of laws made up a long time ago but nothing has changed and apartment owners still pay several high tax rates.

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How 'Unfair' Property Taxes Crush New Yorkers

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I saw this concept of women only gyms on tiktok and found a relevant article with some great information. This is a topic that could go both ways of being a good or bad form of intersectionality. In the article it mentions that several women have been harassed and almost all of them feel intimidated when they go into a gym where there are men present.

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Back in the late aughts, when I was a chubby middle-schooler vowing that " this summer would be the summer that I'd get skinny," I begged my mother for a Curves membership. Curves - one of the largest women-only gyms in the country - was, to my mind, exactly what I needed to finally be able to fit into the size-zero jeans my peers wore. (That never ended up happening.)

It's an age-old conundrum: I felt too insecure about my body to go to the gym and work out, but I probably would have felt better about my body if I went to the gym and worked out. As a middle-schooler in the 2000s, nothing was more embarrassing than being seen exercising in public if you weren't already thin and thought of as " physically fit."

There was no "fit at any size" movement during that time. Instead, there was my yearly physical, with its annual reminder that I was, according to my BMI, obese. Never mind that I was healthy by all other metrics and participated in sports year-round; never mind that I was strong for my age and gender. To the world, I was fat and unfit and had to go to the gym as penance.

And if there was one thing an unconfident 11-year-old couldn't do, it was work out among dozens of muscular, in-shape men. There was something so intimidating about those male gym regulars. The idea of one taking notice of my existence in theirspace, their domain? As a preteen with no idea how to even talk to boys her own age, working out with full-grown men was notgoing to happen.

And if there was one thing an unconfident 11-year-old couldn't do, it was work out among dozens of muscular, in-shape men

My mom didn't end up springing for the Curves membership or any other women's gym - but plenty of other women did. Curves became synonymous with women-only gyms and, at its peak, was one of the fastest-growing franchises not only in the country but also globally. Other national franchises like Lucille Roberts, alongside local women-only gyms around the world, offered the benefits of a single-gender fitness environment that I so desperately looked for as a preteen, and in the early 2000s, their popularity was thriving.

Today, single-sex gyms have fallen out of favor as a fitness trend (quite a few Curves, for instance, have closed). And for many, frankly, they don't feel very 2021. With the rise of studio exercise classes, which are often de facto single-gender, their necessity is less clear, and their explicit delineation around gender raises questions of inclusivity, particularly when it comes to trans and nonbinary gym-goers.

Curves states on its website, at least, that it does not discriminate by race, gender, or sexual orientation. But some women's gyms have seriously dropped the ball, asking incredibly invasive questions about trans women's transitions and implementing discriminatory practices based on their perceptions of womanhood. And for nonbinary people, "women-only" messaging can be exclusionary, which is unfortunate for a space that strives to be a place of comfort.

Still, for many, these gyms represent a way to reach your fitness goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle, free from the intimidation and harassment often present in co-ed gyms. You can't talk about the benefits of women's gyms without talking about harassment in co-ed gyms.

A 2018 survey by an exercise product site found that nearly one in five women said they had experienced harassment at the gym, causing the majority of them to change their behavior in some way. From changing what they wore (or their workout program) to considering an all-women gym to refraining from going to the gym at all, it is a common occurrence for women to adjust their lives based on what happens at the gym. In an ideal world, the gym is supposed to be a safe space, but the behavior of other gym-goers can seriously infringe on that.

Courtney Tenz, a German-based copywriter and brand marketing lecturer, says an all-women gym helped her get over her fears of working out in public when she was living in Boston in her early 20s. The gym felt safe and welcoming, and the trainers were incredibly supportive.

"It's much more than a gym, it's a community"

Similarly, L'Oreal Thompson Payton, a Chicago-based writer and editor, says she feels at home when she's working out around only women. Payton, who attended an all-girls Catholic high school, appreciates the feelings of "solidarity and sisterhood" she found at her pole-dancing studio. "It's much more than a gym, it's a community," she says. Unlike Curves or Lucille Roberts, the studio was a de facto women-only space, but Payton found the same solace that women sought in those gyms.

Charisma Lowe, a 26-year-old social media manager based in Atlanta, works out with a female trainer in a co-ed gym and says men constantly come up to her and her trainer to give them tips.

"There's a lot of micromanaging, and I'm not sure if they mean any harm, but it comes across like she doesn't know what she's doing," Lowe says. "But obviously, I hired her because she knows what she's doing." Lowe is also hypersensitive to what she wears while working out, having gotten looks once for donning just a sports bra on a hot day. She sticks to T-shirts no matter the weather, and has even gone so far as to wear sweaters to the gym.

And Sade Adebayo, a 29-year-old powerlifter from Virginia, complained that she faced sexual harassment when working out in a co-ed gym. Men would make comments about her body, telling her not to work out her upper body and to focus on her glutes and legs. Other times, men would strike up inappropriate conversations with her. Some would even go as far as inappropriately spotting her by putting their genitals on her. Adebayo also says men would use their size and stature to intimidate her and make her feel uncomfortable at the gym.

For reasons like these, I once thought working out among other women seemed like the perfect way to mitigate gymtimidation and harassment. And for many, women-only gyms may feel like a godsend. However, I've realized as I've grown older that it's not always that simple. Working out among only women definitely offers benefits and a level of comfortability that I yearned for. But when you're trying to navigate feelings of intimidation, shame, or unwelcomeness in the gym, there are other factors that come into play.

Ashleigh Kast, a fitness coach who specializes in working with women who have metabolic and autoimmune issues, says women's gyms, such as Curves, that offer a model of "women-specific" fitness perpetuate harmful myths about gender and fitness. "[Places like Curves] thrive on the understanding that men and women should train extremely differently, which is not true or founded in science," Kast says.

As a result, Kast thinks of gyms like Curves as less intense. While Curves workouts can be pretty effective, Kast says Curves has marketed itself in a way that differentiates it from more challenging programs. It may be the case that in an attempt to seem more feminine, the marketing made Curves workouts seem less difficult.

And even though Tenz, the copywriter, fell in love with her gym in Boston, for her the women-only gyms in Germany left something to be desired. "I tried one for a few months, but it mostly felt like a place where retirees went to socialize, so it didn't feel as powerful to work out there. It was great for them, though, just not enough for me," she says.

Sade used to work out at a local Gold's Gym that offered a section called "Lady Gold's." Even though Sade doesn't have any complaints about the environment there, the lackluster equipment made it impossible to stay in that section. "If I did want to work out exclusively in Lady Gold's, I would have limited equipment available to me," she says. To Sade, the variety and quality of the equipment just weren't comparable to that of the gym's co-ed area.

Now Sade works out in a specialized powerlifting gym, which she says definitely has its perks: There's a camaraderie that you get from exercising in a space where people have similar goals, and she's never experienced sexual harassment at her powerlifting gym.

Going to a gym that was filled with women who shared a common goal that wasn't about aesthetics felt incredibly empowering

Much later in life, I had the opportunity and privilege of working out in a gym that was majority women. For a few months, I went to a powerlifting gym that had an all-women competition team. As someone who had perfected her resting bitch face to ward off any comments or looks when I went to a commercial gym, going to a gym filled with women who shared a common goal that wasn't about aesthetics felt incredibly empowering. And our goals that wereaesthetic were as varied and diverse as we were. We were a group of women that were unafraid of looking "bulky." Instead, we were in awe of the physical representations of our hard work, like our muscular thighs and our calloused hands.

Reflecting now, I realize that Curves may not have been the best place for me. Curves, and other women's gyms, have a perception of being for a certain type of demographic: older people, but also skinny people. The feelings of self-consciousness wouldn't subside if my larger, Black body was working out among a gym full of thinner, white ones. It felt like everyone was pursuing the same aesthetic, one I knew I would never achieve.

I'm not 11 years old anymore. I no longer have to ask my mom for permission for anything, let alone a gym membership. But what I consider a safe, inclusive workout space looks a lot different from the Curves commercials I was watching as a preteen. It's not just about the gender makeup of a gym.

Really, what we're looking for, and what gyms like Curves were trying to offer, is a space where we can come in, work out, and not think. Not think about other people's or even our own opinions of our bodies. At the end of the day, we're just trying to do something that is good for our physical and mental health. If you can find that in a Curves gym, then good. But if you haven't found it, it's definitely out there. And you may have the legacy of Curves to thank for it.
Chika Ekemezie is the founder of twenty-something and a Philadelphian who writes about sex, dating, and the politics of daily life. You can find her work in publications like Cosmopolitan, Vice, and Bustle. Follow her on and .

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The appeal and the shortcomings of women-only gyms

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Back in the late aughts, when I was a chubby middle-schooler vowing that " this summer would be the summer that I'd get skinny," I begged my mother for a Curves membership. Curves - one of the largest women-only gyms in the country - was, to my mind, exactly what I needed to finally be able to fit into the size-zero jeans my peers wore.

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Schooling is diving the population even more

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Schooling is diving the population even more

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This video is a Ted talk that illustrates the complications within the educational system and how the children's fate is determined by which class they are born. He mentions that the school system makes worse what it is supposed to fix.

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The "opportunity gap" in US public education -- and how to close it | Anindya Kundu

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Here in this article it mentions that COVID-19 has decreased the employment of some people. Because of this personal incomes took a hit and economic hardships resulted. People facing the hardest economic hardship is colored people.

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A report from Pew Research Center, " Economic Fallout From COVID-19 Continues to Hit Lower-Income Americans the Hardest," examines the economic toll that COVID-19 continues to take on U.S. households. The report finds that half of adults who lost jobs due to COVID-19 are still unemployed and that financial hardship is much more severe for those who lost their jobs. Those facing the highest rates of financial hardship include lower-income households and Black and Hispanic households.

The report includes data collected from Pew's American Trends Panel (ATP), a randomly selected, nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. The current report contains data from 13,200 adults, collected in August 2020. Pew defines "lower-income" as two-thirds of the median annual family income among all survey respondents. For a family of three, lower-income households are those making less than $39,800 per year.

Approximately one in four adults have struggled to pay their bills since the onset of COVID-19, with rates differing widely across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines. Forty-three percent of Black adults and 37% of Hispanic adults reported trouble paying bills since COVID-19 began. Further, 28% of Black and 26% of Hispanic adults had trouble paying rent or mortgage-rates more than double that of white adults at 11%.

Forty-six percent of lower-income adults reported having trouble paying bills, and 32% reported having problems paying their rent or mortgage. Lower-income adults also reported high rates of using money from savings and retirement accounts (44%), borrowing money from family/friends (35%), and receiving food from a food bank (35%).

Unemployment continues to affect many adults, 15% of whom reported that they personally became unemployed because of COVID-19. Of these, half remain unemployed. Forty-three percent of lower-income Americans have been able to return to work, compared to 58% of those in the middle and high-income groups. Many people who remained employed still took a financial hit amid COVID-19; 21% of adults who did not lose their job experienced a cut in pay.

Lastly, 36% of adults who are typically able to save money report saving less since the pandemic began. This is significantly higher for lower-income adults (51%), Black adults (46%), Hispanic adults (48%), and younger adults age 18-29 (47%).

The report can be found at: https://pewrsr.ch/3461Fv2

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New Survey Finds COVID-19 Economic Impact Most Severe for Low-Income Adults and People of Color

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A report from Pew Research Center, "Economic Fallout From COVID-19 Continues to Hit Lower-Income Americans the Hardest," examines the economic toll that COVID-19 continues to take on U.S. households. The report finds that half of adults who lost jobs due to COVID-19 are still unemployed and that financial hardship is much more severe for those who lost their jobs.

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In this article it presents a lawsuit brought about by a former NFL coach about the dominance of white coaches compared to minority coaches in the NFL. Here the white coaches have privilege and the colored coaches are oppressed.

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Race lawsuit brings NFL reckoning before Super Bowl kickoff

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Ex-Dolphins coach Brian Flores has put renewed spotlight on league's lack of coaching diversity before major game.

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In this article it talks about the brutality that happened that lead up to George Floyd a black man's death. A white privileged cop and a black oppressed man.

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How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody (Published 2020)

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The Times has reconstructed the death of George Floyd on May 25. Security footage, witness videos and official documents show how a series of actions by officers turned fatal.

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In this article it talks about how high success in women's Olympic gymnastics is predominately held by white women.

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While working on an upcoming article highlighting the rise of Brazil into a successful women's artistic gymnastics (WAG) program, one particular detail I wanted to comment on was the significance of Brazil achieving breakout success in a sport that has historically been dominated by white athletes and white-majority countries.

The purpose of this article is not to measure racial diversity in terms of how it relates to participation rates, but rather the noticeable absence of non-white gymnasts when specifically analyzing the list of gymnasts who are all-time medal leaders in WAG. My intention for writing this article is first, to produce a data set so that the next time I assert in an article that such a racial disparity exists, I have the data on hand to back up said claim.

But my other major intent with this article is to make gymnastics fans better aware as to the existence of this disparity. Given the historical dominance of Eastern Europe in the sport, most WAG fans won't be surprised that such a racial disparity exists. But many may be shocked to learn just how extreme the racial disparity actually is.

Guan Chenchen

Currently, of the 30 most decorated WAGs in Olympic history, the 30 female gymnasts with the highest number of Olympic medals, Simone Biles and Nellie Kim (USSR) are the only non-white gymnasts among them.

But as many of you know, I don't like using raw medal counts. Instead, I prefer using my "points" system which has proven to be popular with gymnastics fans. It counts only medals won in an individual event at the World Championships and/or Olympics, it then weights those medals where a gold is worth 3-points, a silver medal 2-points, and a bronze medal 1-point. The system is designed to be a compromise between ranking gymnasts by total medals and gold medals. It is designed to be so simple it avoids taking any stance at all thus negating personal opinion and/or subjectivity.

Just before the 2021 Olympics, there were 45 WAGs who were in the "10-point club." Gymnasts who had 10 or more points in the "points" system. But during the 2021 Olympics two new gymnasts joined the 10-point club for the first time, Vanessa Ferrari of Italy and Nina Derwael of Belgium. In both cases, they were the first gymnasts from their respective countries to reach this milestone and increased the total number of countries with a gymnast in the 10-point club from 11 to 13.

Guan Chenchen and Simone Biles

With 47 gymnasts in the 10-point club and those 47 gymnasts represented the most successful athletes in WAG history per my data, the racial demographics of the list is as follows:

(a) 44 of 47 gymnasts are white. The three exceptions being #1 ranked Simone Biles (United States), #8 ranked Nellie Kim (Soviet Union), and #32 ranked Cheng Fei (China).

(b) The above figure states 94% of the gymnasts are white

(c) 46 of 47 gymnasts come from white-majority countries, the previously mentioned Cheng Fei of China at #32 being the lone exception.

(d) The above figure states 98% of the gymnasts come from white-majority countries.

Sunisa Lee

For those wondering who these gymnasts are, here is the breakdown.

Soviet Union (13):
Larissa Latynina, Ludmilla Turischeva, Nellie Kim, Elena Shushunova, Olga Korbut, Natalia Kuchinskaya, Tamara Manina, Polina Astakhova, Maria Gorokhovskaya, Sofia Muratova, Elena Mukhina, Tatiana Gutsu, Svetlana Boginskaya

Romania (8):
Daniela Silivas, Gina Gogean, Lavinia Milosovici, Ecaterina Szabo, Simona Amanar, Nadia Comaneci, Andreea Raducan, Catalina Ponor

United States (7):
Simone Biles, Shannon Miller, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Alicia Sacramone, Chellsie Memmel, Kim Zmeskal

Russia (4):
Svetlana Khorkina, Aliya Mustafina, Elena Zamolodchikova, Viktoria Komova

Czechoslovakia (3):
Vera Caslavska, Eva Bosakova, Vlasta Dekanova

East Germany (3):
Maxi Gnauck, Erika Zuchold, Karin Janz

Hungary (2):
Agnes Keleti, Henrietta Onodi

Others (7):
Oksana Chusovitina (Multi-National), Nina Derwael (Belgium), Cheng Fei (China), Vanessa Ferrari (Italy), Helena Rakoczy (Poland), Lilia Podkopayeva (Ukraine), Beth Tweddle (Great Britain)

Yeo Seo Jeong

While it may be tempting to attribute the existence of these figures to the lasting legacy of the Cold War and the dominance of Communist Eastern Europe, 11 of 47 gymnasts in the 10-point club made their senior debut in the 21st century. And only 2 of 11 of them were not white. Thereby establishing that this trend continues to hold whether it be before the fall of the Berlin Wall, or afterwards.

I don't want to give a false impression that non-white gymnasts are failing to achieve success in WAG. In fact, the 2021 Olympics experienced historic levels of success from non-white gymnasts who accounted for 7 of 12 gymnasts who won a WAG medal in an individual event. It is only when you look at the data in one specific way by highlighting career medal counts while ignoring everything else can such racial disparity be found.

It is up to gymnastics fans to determine what to make of racial statistics regarding the 47 gymnasts in the 10-point club. I just felt that from the perspective of countries like China, Mexico, Brazil, India, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan, it was important to highlight that these figures exist. And then let fans determine for themselves what it all means and whether these figures are indeed the byproduct of racial barriers hindering the long-term success of non-white gymnasts.

Sunisa Lee

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The Lack of Racial Diversity In Women's Gymnastics Medal Leaders

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While working on an upcoming article highlighting the rise of Brazil into a successful women's artistic gymnastics (WAG) program, one particular detail I wanted to comment on was the significance of Brazil achieving breakout success in a sport that has historically been dominated by white athletes and white-majority countries.

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This is the logo of the School in my hometown. Throughout my 13 years at Morris Area Schools I only experienced male principles and super intendants.

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This article is about the difference between weight room's provided for men and women at the NCAA basketball tournament.

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Multiple NCAA women's basketball players and staff have drawn public attention to disparities and substandard facilities at the NCAA tournament location in Texas.

In a post Thursday, Stanford University Sports Performance Coach Ali Kershner shared images of a small rack of dumbbells - the women's weight room - beside an image of a vast expanse with benches, racks and barbell weights - the men's weight room.

"[T]his needs to be addressed," Kershner wrote.

"These women want and deserve to be given the same opportunities. Not only that - 3 weeks in a bubble and no access to DBs above 30's until the sweet 16? In a year defined by a fight for equality this is a chance to have a conversation and get better."

Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president of women's basketball, acknowledged in a statement Thursday "that some of the amenities teams would typically have access to have not been as available inside the controlled environment.

"In part, this is due to the limited space and the original plan was to expand the workout area once additional space was available later in the tournament," she continued. "However, we want to be responsive to the needs of our participating teams, and we are actively working to enhance existing resources at practice courts, including additional weight training equipment."

But on Friday, Oregon player Sedona Prince disputed the claim that there was no space for the women to have an equitable weight room.

"This is our weight room," Prince said in a TikTok video verified by NBC News, showing a small weight rack. "This is the men's weight room," she says, panning across a vast space with workout benches, racks and many more weights.

She also appeared to debunk an NCAA claim that the disparity was caused by a lack of space, panning her camera to show a large, empty space around their weight rack.

"If you're not upset about this problem, then your'e a part of it," Prince said.

The NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday, but NBC News San Antonio reported that Holzman told reporters the NCAA "fell short" in providing equitable facilities for women basketball players and promised improvements by Saturday morning.

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Women at NCAA tournament allege disparate treatment

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In one viral TikTok video, a player for Oregon's NCAA women's basketball team showed a small weight rack for women and a vast weight room for men.

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In this article it is made clear that women are judged by the length of their hair.

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As I sat in a salon chair to get a hair treatment, I heard a little girl who could not have been more than six, screaming and crying because her hair had been cut short. It took me back to the time when I was also a four or five-year-old girl who felt utterly ugly because of the length of her hair.

By contrast, my best friend had waist-length, shiny black locks, the kind you see in shampoo ads. I was far from being the Rapunzel I read of in short stories. I was far from being pretty. Even at that age, these beauty ideals weighed heavily on my mind, just the way they affected the self-perception of the little girl who was crying next to me.

Why does the length of a woman's hair matter so much?

So many of us women are taught to measure our value in terms of our femininity, which in turn becomes a measure of our beauty, and that goes on to determine our sense of self-worth as a human being. Hair plays a disturbingly huge role in this.

Hair is loaded with politics. We hear people stereotype women based on their hair. A woman with a short and sharp bob is a Karen. A woman with a pixie cut must be a "tomboy." A woman with long hair is vain and ditzy. We, as women, cannot win. In this system, which involves boxing us into clichéd niches based on the length of our hair, we cannot ever be just normal human beings.

The femininity of a woman with short hair is often questioned. Why?

As someone who has had short hair of various lengths, ranging from a pixie cut to a short bob, I have heard a lot of assumptions about women who look like me. From being called a lesbian to a tomboy, there are a lot of things people have said to prove that my hair alone makes them jump to conclusions about me.

While there is no need for one to fight assumptions about such matters, because there's nothing wrong with being either a lesbian or a tomboy, the issue is that it shows how society views personal appearances in terms of gender binaries. Per social standards, short hair is masculine, long hair is feminine, and a man or a woman who wants to incorporate a gender-fluid style into their look cannot exist.

Isn't it wild how rigid gender norms are? That we can't even accept a superficial physicality like short hair without jumping to conclusions about a person's identity?

Why is it that long hair is seen as a beauty trait?

Hair growth is normal for both men and women, and hair can be long enough for anyone who takes care of their locks and spends the time required. Many women can't go for long hair, and many men can. But somehow, it is only women who are required to have long hair, and only women whose appearance is judged based on it. Do we stop and ask ourselves why?

Well, because it is yet another marker of gender differentiation. Much like hairless skin or an hourglass body, our beauty standards are based on how different a woman's physical features are from that of a man. Think about it: men have to have heavy square jaws, but the "ideal" feminine face has to have a heart-shaped, V-shaped jaw. Men should be hairy, women should be hairless. Men should be tall, dark and handsome, while women should be fair, petite and pretty.

These binaries are social constructs designed to reinforce the gender divide, and they have no impact on how attractive or unattractive a person of any gender is.

Many parents have an inordinate obsession with controlling the length of their daughter's hair

There is a huge stigma against cutting one's hair in India and a lot of it is reinforced by parents who view their daughter's body as property to be controlled. In many conservative societies, women are required to dress and look a certain way in order to be considered worthy of marriage. Parents often try to control the appearance of girl children due to this. So we, as women, are conditioned to have gender-based ideas of physical beauty. We are not taught to see the beauty in being creative with our appearance or expressing our freedom with how we dress or do our makeup. We are taught that beauty is all about conformity.

So, if you want to cut your hair, cut it. If you find long hair is nothing but the burden of having to look pretty enough per social standards, cut off that hair. If you're tired of taking care of long locks for the sake of pleasing others, cut it off. It's not our job to be a version of ourselves that society finds acceptable. Your hair, your rules.
Lead image credit: Dharma Productions, Red Chillies Entertainment

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Why Does Society Attach So Much Value To The Length Of A Woman's Hair?

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Why is long hair seen as a beauty ideal, and short hair seen as something that makes a woman less attractive? These gender-based beauty norms deepen the gender divide and sideline women's freedom for the sake of socially-constructed beauty standards.

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This photo illustrates the socially accepted norm of identifying the gender of a new born by the color of their clothing

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This video displays adults offering a "girl" soft and doll like toys, while offering a "boy" hard and more active toys

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Girl toys vs boy toys: The experiment - BBC Stories

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This article provides information on the social construction of Gender. One section explained the social construction of Genders through advertising and how Vogue magazine was more likely to show women with scare clothing.

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Berghe-Ana-Kaia-van-den.pdf - The visual construction of gender roles in advertising for ‘gender-neutral’ and ‘gender-specific’ fashion products | Course Hero

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View Berghe-Ana-Kaia-van-den.pdf from BSBA 101 at Potohar College of Science Kalar Syedan, Rawalpindi. The visual construction of gender roles in advertising for 'gender-neutral' and